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CAPISTRANO has the swallows. We have shad.The fish is now migrating up the Atlantic coast, swimming back to spawning grounds in the St. Lawrence.That’s a sure sign of spring that makes connoisseurs of its sweet, rich meat – and savory roe – lick their chops.

“I love shad. I think it’s one of the most flavorful fish there is,” said Joe Gurrera, owner of the Citarella gourmet emporiums and restaurant.

He extols the fish’s high fat content, buttery taste and soft texture, adding “it’s very healthy for you, too.

“Done well, it has everything.”

Over the next few months, don’t be surprised to see shad served at restaurants and sold at fish stores. Its unique combination of taste and texture keep chefs coming back to the seasonal delicacy despite its big drawback – the bones. Deboning a fish also known as the inside-out porcupine is no easy task.

“If you don’t, every single bite would have bones in it,” chef Sandy Ingber of the Oyster Bar at Grand Central explains.

To fillet, the fish butcher must make seven cuts, then “finesse” it, a trick which takes a whole season of practice to master.

“When you’re finished, the fish almost looks torn apart, but when you cook it, it all holds together,” he says. “The guys who are skilled do it with their eyes closed. But there’s only a few.”

The Oyster Bar is currently serving shad and roe caught in Georgia and South Carolina.

Citarella, the stores, are selling the fillets and roe for the home cook, while Citarella, the restaurant, is offering shad sushi, made with a smaller Japanese shad, as well as crisp-skin American shad with pea puree, spring garlic and butter-poached fingerling potatoes.

Some old recipes call for cooking this member of the herring family to death – six hours or longer – to soften the bones.

And some eateries skirt issue altogether by serving only the roe, or egg sacks, which some foodies clamor for.

Chef Daniel Orr of Guastavino has two dishes featuring roe: one with vermouth and sorrel sauce “which is wonderful,” the other a ragout of white beans with lemon, chives and smoked trout butter, which he describes as “stunning.”